Various and Sundry

Too much driving in the rain, throwing my back out, more driving in the rain, too much traffic, lots of back pain.

Aside from that, it was a lovely vacation. We saw Possession and really enjoyed it. Then again, we both loved the book. We went to a wedding where we were both guests and the official photographers (the groom was our DJ so it was a trade type thing) and we discovered that we rather enjoyed photographing the wedding. Who knows, it may be the next career. We went to Boston and saw friends and had friends come and visit us in Rhode Island (which is where we were, btw). We had very brief (too brief) pitstops in New York. Wish we could have stayed longer as we have friends there we are long overdue for visiting (hi Ed! hi Bob!).

Anyway, I’m back now. Radio Userland seems to have issues with Jaguar (OSX 10.2) and is flaky about actually working. So, posts may be sporadic as my patience with trying to fix this dictates.

In other news, I attended a meeting at the Old Executive Office Building. That’s next door to the White House and is, for all intents and purposes, part of the White House. The building is quite lovely, though somewhat boring and institutional on the inside once you get past the pretty staircases. The project is a go again. On October 16, we’ll be launching our new site, the replacement to DisabilityDirect.gov which, sadly, is in hibernation at the moment. For the next 45 or so days, that is my life. The big hold-up was getting all the ducks in a row. But, last week, the most important piece of the puzzle was put into place: The President signed the executive memorandum which mandates that the site exist. Granted, it’s a call to develop a site which has been in existence for two years now but that’s government work for ya.

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Testimonials

Andy has been an incredible asset to my team. He brings with him depth of technical knowledge coupled with solid project management skills. He works well with all his stakeholders and has consistently delivered results exceeding stakeholder expectations.

In the nearly two years that I’ve been coding for Ozmott, Andy has done what I consider a nearly perfect job of directing the project and the app development. Specifically, that means he helps to keep the project goals at the forefront, he acquires whatever resources we need to complete our tasks, accepts our input on project design and implementation details, and… he keeps the distractions to a minimum and lets us do our jobs.

I loved working with Andy. He was fun, smart and dedicated to the projects. He never hesitated when asked to go the extra mile.

Michael ShoagDirector of Government Services, Forum One Communications

Andy was an energetic, enthusiastic employee that helped many users at Dartmouth sort through the personal computer and desktop publishing tools (hardware and software) as they evolved in the early 1990s. He also built the first Dartmouth web presence and was instrumental in bringing those tools into the mainstream during the early days of web development. He showed a great creative spirit… and I highly recommend Andy. I would have him back on my team instantly were I able to do so.

Andy is an excellent PM, a terrific organizer, an effective problem solver, & someone we turned to to mentor other PMs. He handled a large portfolio of responsibilities with a range of goals & desired outcomes. He addressed all of them effectively & quickly, taking time to ensure that he trained other members of the team so they could implement the correct approach. We frequently sought Andy’s input on issues and problems, knowing that he would turn his immense energy and creativity to the task.

Tom TeagueSenior Project Manager, Leidos

Andy is a detail-oriented project manager who’s ability to plan in a liquid environment makes him a true asset. His foresight and ability to adapt to change, allowed him to take on multiple projects with tight deadlines and move through to completion with relative ease.

Mike GazzilloPrincipal Consultant, SAIC

Andy is innovative, enthusiastic and doesn’t lose sight of the big picture. He is always willing to answer questions, brainstorm solutions and look for ways to improve how we do things. He is highly collaborative and keeps the team moving in the right direction with his positive energy and drive. …He led a team of various resources in different locations (who had their own team priorities and didn’t even report to him) to rescue complicated projects from certain failure.

Carla EmmonsDirector of Technology, Intermarkets

Andy is highly motivated to succeed in everything he does. He will initially review the opportunity, decide how to get it done and on the way include improvements on the original concept. Andy has been a mentor and a team player in a very dynamic environment. I will miss having Andy as part of my team as he moves on to other endeavors.

Susan WoodsSmart Grid Test Manager, Leidos

I have employed [Andy] as a Director of Engineering as well as a lead project manager on several projects, always with fantastic results. Such projects included both B2B services as well at consumer facing web-based and mobile applications.
He exhibits a great talent for simultaneously managing several divergent project demands in addition to learning new skills on the fly as required. All of this due, in no small part, to excellent organizational and people management skills.
Andrew is an outstanding addition to any team and a valuable professional resource to draw from.

Joseph WalkerCo-Founder and C.E.O. at Ozmott, LLC

Andy Affleck plays the title role and my only regret is that we didn’t get to see him more on stage. Sinister yet disarmingly polite Affleck made us remember why our mothers told us never to talk to strangers. And that wearing garlic probably isn’t a bad idea either.